Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Luna’s POV

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The second the words left my mouth, Theo leaned back slightly in his chair and stared at me with an amused look on his face, though I could tell there was a little exhaustion hidden behind it too.

“If it makes you feel any better,” he said dryly, “you survived longer with my mother than most people do.”

I snorted softly before shaking my head. “Theo, your mother interrogates people like she’s trying to pull state secrets out of them”

He laughed quietly at that while standing up from his chair. “That’s actually one of the nicer descriptions I’ve heard of her.”

I watched him for a second as he adjusted the sleeves of his shirt. Even now, he still seemed a little different from the version of him I was used to seeing. The usual overly confident Theo who flified nonstop and acted like nothing bothered him was still there, but it felt toned down somehow. Like being around his mother had forced another side of him to come out whether he liked it or not.

You still want the tour?” he asked.

hesitated briefly before nodding. “I mean, I’m already here, so I might as well see the rest of this place.”

Theo grinned immediately. “That’s the spirit.”

rolled my eyes while standing up too. “Don’t get too excited. I’m still traumatized from lunch.”

That hurts,” he said dramatically while placing a hand over his chest. “I bring you to my childhood home, and all you feel is rauma.”

You literally let your mother ask me if I planned on marrying you,” I reminded him.

‘In my defense,” he replied calmly as we started walking out of the dining room together, “I was just as horrified as you

were.”

‘That’s a lie.”

It’s only partially a lie.”

I shook my head at him, but despite myself, I felt a tiny smile pulling at my tips anyway

The house was quieter now compared to earlier. We walked through long hallways with huge windows and exps move paintings hanging on the walls. Everything about the place screamed money and power but somehow it still rely livest is didn’t have that cold feeling I experted rich places to have where everything looked too perfect to lose it

A few people we passed greeted Theo respectfully as Alpha, bowing then heads slightly before comme Every single time it happened. I soli felt strange watching it

At some point, we stepped outside through large glass doors that led into the back gosders. The poncise the low den my face. I immediately relaxed a little more The gardens were massive filled with flowers stone paths and lung ges gave shade from the son

“This place is ridiculously huge I muttered white looking around

M.I

Theo shoved his hands into his pockets casually. You duld see the rest of die warmory This is a malty sure of this small i parkhouses”

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Chapter 103-

#fooked at him like he had lost his mind. “Smaller?”

He laughed. “You really need to stop looking at me like that every time I speak.”

“Well, maybe you should stop saying ridiculous things.” I retorted.

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He only grinned wider at that. For a while, we simply walked quietly beside each other, and honestly, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Surprisingly, it actually felt calm I could hear birds somewhere in the distance, along with the sound of water from what looked like a fountain nearby.

Still, the question that had been bothering me since lunch refused to leave my head. Eventually, I sighed before looking him again. “Theo.”

“Hm?”

‘Why did you really bring me here?” I asked.

He glanced sideways at me. “I already told you.”

‘No,” I said immediately. “You gave me a vague answer, but I want the real one.”

He stayed quiet for a few seconds, and I could practically see him thinking.

folded my arms while staring at him suspiciously. “Any normal person trying to impress somebody would not bring the somewhere they’d have to meet their terrifying mother.”

Theo burst into laughter at that. “Terrifying?”

‘She literally asked me if I planned on marrying you while I was trying to eat. That was one of the scariest experiences of ny life,” I replied.

He chuckled. “Fair enough.”

continued staring at him stubbornly. “And clearly you two don’t exactly get along either, so I really want to understand w you thought this was a good idea.”

The smile on his face faded slightly after that. He looked ahead quietly while we continued walking slowly down the stone bath.

‘I brought you here on purpose,” he finally admitted.

I blinked. “Well… obviously.”

‘No,” he said softly. “I mean, I knew exactly what I was doing.”

That made me frown a little.

Theo let out a quiet breath before continuing “I knew my mother might make you uncomfortable I knew this entire place might overwhelm you a little too, but I still brought you anyway because He paused bricity before looking at the again “Because I wanted you to see something real

I stayed quiet.

Theo looked away again while speaking “You already had a preconceived idea about me before we even started talking properly,” he said. “You saw me as some unserious thirt who only cared about football partying and messing around with girls”

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7:28 pm P P T

Chapter 103

#opened my mouth to defend myself, but honestly he wasn’t wrong.

He noticed my expression immediately and smirked faintly. “See?”

“I mean…” I muttered awkwardly. “Yoù do flirt a lot from what I heard.”

“A little,” he corrected.

“A little?” I repeated incredulously.

Theo shrugged shamelessly. “Okay, maybe more than a little.”

I rolled my eyes, but he became serious again almost immediately.

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“The point is,” he continued quietly, “I knew the only way you would actually lower your guard around me was if you saw a side of me I don’t usually show people.”

I frowned slightly. “And bringing me to your family home was your genius idea?”

“Yes.”

“That’s honestly an insane way to think,” I scoffed in response.

“It worked though,” he replied smoothly.

I looked at him suspiciously. “Worked how?”

He grinned. “You’re looking at me differently already.”

I immediately scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

But the annoying thing was that part of me knew he was right. Before today, Theo mostly felt like chaos wrapped in a pretty face. He was attractive, confident, playful, and ridiculously persistent, but I had not really taken him seriously beyond that.

Now though? Now I had seen the way he acted around his mother, the way his expression subtly tightened whenever she questioned him, the way he became quieter around her, and the way there had been actual tension with their conversations even when they sounded polite, and somehow, seeing all that made him feel more normal.

Theo gave me a small smile before continuing. “I like being relaxed outside because I grew up around someone oweriy serious all the time,” he admitted quietly. “When your entire childhood feels stiff and controlled, eventually you start craving the exact opposite.”

There was something unexpectedly sad in his voice when he said that, and hearing it make something inside my chest ache a little. Moon went completely silent in my head too, almost like even she sensed the shift in his mood

Theo kicked lightly at a small stone on the path while speaking agam “People see me joking around and automatically assume I’m shallow or careless, but honestly? Being able to laugh and thrt and act stupid sometimes is probably the only reason I didn’t lose my mind growing up here”

I looked at him carefully siter that, and strangely enough. I realized I didn’t really like seeing hun hook this sad. The realization caught me off guard

I awkwardly cleared my throat before speaking carefully. “You know

Theo looked at me.

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